Diabetes with a smile–

Month: November 2016

I will NEVER give up! Diabetes is a royal pain in the ass, but I will NEVER give up!

It’s about ten minutes since my last post and I’m on my way to bed. I’m wiped out. If you read my last post, you’ll see why I have some nerve being tired.

Today is Sunday. It’s another day. It’s going to be a great day and I will, for sure, start off with a really GOOD ATTITUDE. My plan is to start out with an attitude of gratitude and move on from there!

Blah, blah, blah. The attitude of gratitude. Blah, blah, blah. Today, I didn’t want to hear about it, didn’t want to know about it, didn’t even want to think about it.

Today was one of those B A D A T T I T U D E days. Why? I have NO clue. Sometimes you just want to pull up the covers and forget about it. This was one of those days. So, what did I do to change my attitude? I went to get my hair colored (good move!) and came home hating the way my hair looked (bad move!).

I have a friend who’s a DIYer, as am I. She’s working on a credenza; I’m 1/2-way through refinishing a table. Looking for motivation to finish mine, I decided to stop at her house to see how she’s progressing (good move!) She had painted just one of the drawers, as a test case, to be sure she liked the finish, before continuing. It was gorgeous! Light gray base coat with a darker silver distress. Just beautiful. Did it motivate me? Absolutely. (Yea!!!)

On the ride home, I thought about my project. I’ll work on it this afternoon, I told myself. When I pulled into the gas station to fill up, I remembered why that wasn’t going to happen. As I got out of the car, a stabbing pain shot down the right side of my butt and leg and reminded me that today was NOT going to be the day I’d be working on the table. [Last Wednesday I went out to my garage to grab the paint supplies to complete my table. As I leaned over to lift the carton, I coughed REALLY hard, and ZAP — sciatica crept back into my life. If you’ve ever had it you know — it smarts! I left the carton right where it was, grabbed an ice pack and a heating pad, and spent the next two days trying to get the inflammation down. SCIATICA SUCKS — I’m gonna get a bumper sticker.] I shouldn’t complain; four days is nothing and it’s MUCH better. But, I didn’t remember that, when I went into the gas station and bought a package of Twinkies (bad move! — really bad move).

Continuing my brief drive home, I told myself, In the meantime, I’ll work on Carrie’s quilt. I can do that. Carrie is friend of my daughter’s who’s having a baby and the shower is the day after Thanksgiving. HOLY PROCRASTINATION! Hurry up, Kathy! I wasn’t going to give her the quilt until the baby is born but, if I do it NOW that’ll be many hours of keeping my hands busy and not thinking about cravings. (Back to my Grapefruit Oil) 🙂

Well, when I got home, after I downed the Twinkies, I set up the table to lay out the quilt, got out the fabric and started. NO! Of course I didn’t start!!!I told you I had a lousy attitude. Instead, I grabbed my laptop and wasted about two hours watching YouTube videos on “How to Make a Rag Quilt.” It was very relaxing to watch someone else do the work. I know how to make that style quilt — I’ve done it four times!

strip, rag quilt

WHY then, was I wasting the time??? Probably because my miserable attitude told me to AND probably because of the sugar rush to my brain from the freakin’ Twinkies. Ugh.

It’s 11:51 p.m., so nine more minutes until Sunday. My GOAL for Sunday?

As promised, here’s a list of some great snack ideas with only 15-20 grams of carbohydrate per portion!

One of my biggest issues with T2D is that I’ve believed that less is better. UNTRUE! Skipping snackscan be likened to skipping meals. It disrupts the balance of our blood glucose levels. Therefore, it’s important to include appropriate snacks in our daily food intake.

Maggie, my Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator, gave me the following ideas, regarding those all important snacks:

In a recent post, I let you know that I’d gone to a dietician at the Diabetes Education Center near my home. I said I’d post information that Maggie (Registered Dietetician and Certified Diabetes Educator) had given me, in terms of monitoring my food, choices, and alternatives. Balancing our blood glucose levels is imperative, and eating the right foods at the correct times will help T2D’s to do just that!

BREAKFASTis touted as being The Most Important Meal of the Day — NOT in my world! I want it to be. I recognize the importance, but I have some issues with it. I’ve got ISSUES!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

I’m allergic to eggs. That leaves out a LOT of recipes.

I have a “thing” about the TEXTURE of some foods. Therefore, Oatmeal = I’d rather be shot!

That being said, Maggie helped me with some alternatives. So that YOU get the full benefit of my appointment with her, I’m going to list ALL the choices (including the ones I won’t be eating).

First off, she gave me a brief list of some “At Home Menus” that contain 45-60 g of carb; less than 10 g fat; at least 8 g fiber. Perfect, right? O.K., take a look:

* In my case, I can eliminate the egg and have the McMuffin with sausage and cheese!

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I have a mini-confession: I NEVER eat margarine! Nope, I eat the real deal. Butter makes everything better. 🙂 The truth is, I eat VERY little of it — no big deal.

So, my fellow T2D’s that’s it for some of Maggie’s breakfast suggestions. Whether we’re eating AT HOME or ON-the-RUN, now we have NO excuse! (Thanks, Maggie.)

I believe I promised a list of Maggie’s great snack ideas, too. That will be for another post. However, in an effort to encourage you to meetwith a Dietician/Diabetes Educator in your area, I won’t be giving you the entire list. After all, I’m NOT Wiki-leaks!!!!!

REMEMBER: Consult your physician before making ANY changes to you Diabetes Treatment Plan.

I beat the clock! I woke up at 7:15ish, grateful that I was able to sleep at all. Seasonal allergies have arrived and are a killer. No matter. I took a shower, got dressed, did a few things, then drove down to meet my Sunday Morning Writing Group. We meet from 9-11 every other Sunday morning (pretty much.).

I was back home by 11:30 and ready for a nap. But, NO, I’m not going to go horizontal! I know that if I take that nap, I’ll be unable to fall asleep tonight — that’s just the way it is.

My plan is to stay VERTICAL for the day and into the evening. At 10:00, I’ll shut down my electronics, have a warm cup of caffeine-free tea, read for a bit and, hopefully, this Type 2 Diabetic will follow a path to dreamland.

Turning the clock back and, with the extra hour in the morning, I’m hoping to get my sleep schedule on track. I’d love to say, “BACK on track,” but that wouldn’t be truthful. My sleep patterns/habits are horrendous — I’m a night owl. I’ve tried to change that for years, but to no avail.

Going to bed at a decent time is the most difficult part for me. As an adult, I’ve always gone to bed after midnight. My sleep pattern is usually somewhere between 3 to 5 hours, if I’m lucky. I’ve tried developing a routine; i.e., early to bed, early to rise… A cup of hot caffeine-free tea, a dull book, meditation, a warm bath, ocean sounds, a mist of lavender spray, or a warm shower before bed. I’ve set the alarm for an early hour, with the plan of starting my day with a walk. Up and at ’em, is what I’ve attempted. “Attempted” is the operative word. Attempted, but with little or no success. 😦

ANY SUGGESTIONS? Do you have the same issue?

WHY is this so important to me??? I believe that sleep, or the lack thereof, effects everything — including diabetes.

So, with that in mind, this Type 2 Diabetic is off to bed. Wish me luck!